A tribute to and catalogue of the works of Alexander "Hugin" Wieser, founder of ambient black metal band Uruk Hai and many other side-projects, including Hrossharsgrani, Hrefnesholt, Elisabetha, B-Machina, Ceremony of Innocence and more!
Here you will find my thoughts on his work and details on the releases as drawn from items in my personal collection, forming a fuller catalogue of his work than is currently available elsewhere online

Tuesday, 7 April 2015

Happy Birthday, 2015!

Mummy, when I grow up I want to be a tattooed rock star...

What's all this then, Nazgul? Why, it's our annual birthday celebratory bash for Hugin...Once again we've reached the point in the year to celebrate the birthday of Alexander "Hugin" Wieser, born 46 years ago this very day. As the readership of this blog spans the four corners of the planet, feel free to shout "Happy Birthday!" in the language of your choice to help the man celebrate his big day!

In past years Nazgul has marked this anniversary in a variety of ways, and this year it seemed like a good plan to raid the photo archive to have a quick resume of Alex's interaction within the rock and metal community: yes, it's 'lifestyles of the rich and famous' meets Honour and Darkness in a mash-up too good to ignore!

Let's dive straight in with some rare pictures - some probably never published online before - of our hero amidst a motley crew (no, not that Motley Crue) of rock stars past, present and (possibly) future....

...and here's a snap of Alex with M:Pire Of Evil, hanging out on the streets after a blitzkrieg gig in some unsuspecting European town. The characters here are Alex, the Demolition Man Tony Dolan, the enigmatically named 'Merch Girl' (!) and Marc Jackson (the former drummer). No Mantas in this pictured, sadly, but maybe next time....

And speaking of Tony Dolan, we don't need an excuse to post another picture of Alex with him alongside the many we've shown in the Blog previously, so here they are again in a recent selfie, with Tony practicing for a visit to his dentist:

Now, moving into some darker and more mysterious waters, the next couple of pictures feature our hero with people who have been named (though not pictured, from memory) in Honour and Darkness historically, and who are long standing friends of Alex's: the first shows Alex with Gerhard Hallstadt of Austrian folk-metal band Allerseelen, and the second quite extraordinary pose feaures none other than Dimo Dimov from Svarrogh (who have done split releases with Ravenclaw) and Miel Noir (ditto, with Bonemachine). Always nice to put a face to the name, and in that pose not a face you'd forget in a hurry....

Strange things lurk in the storeroom of Steinklang Industries

Moving on, and as Monty Python were prone to say, "and now for something completely different". Who is this well travelled rock star sharing a thumbs-up moment with our Austrian hero? Flowing white locks, expensive watch, posh-looking hotel bar location - any guesses....?

Why, it's none other than Terry Uttley from Smokie! You know Smokie, they did the "Living Next Door To Alice" single, amongst a host of other hits. Funnily enough, the Yorkshire Evening Post (Smokie being a northern band, you know) said once, "Terry Uttley is the frontman of one of the world's most successful bands – Smokie – but you probably wouldn't recognise him in the street" so you'd be forgiven for not knowing him, to be fair. They've been around since 1964 have Smokie, which pre-dates Alex's birth by a good few years!

Here's a blast from the past, in the sense that you'll have seen some of these pictures before. But we could hardly celebrate Alex's rock and roll lifestyle without these 3 geezers, variously seen at gigs around the UK in years past during some high jinks on tour. So without further ado, let's welcome back to Honour and Darkness Joe Matera, Trevor Sewell and Steve Harley all of whom are perfectly splendid individuals and would join with us wishing the main man the best for his birthday:

But for all of you looking for that world exclusive picture, here's a corker for the history books: Alex with Schmier from German thrash legends Destruction. Apparently, the cameraman was under instructions not to shoot the picture until he could see the whites of Schmier's eyes....

And to finish, here's a picture to dispel the long-standing myth that Alex/Hugin has never performed on stage. Clearly incorrect, as the evidence of your own eyes will now demonstrate:

What's happening here, you ask? It's 2002, and Alex and his friend Pepo are on stage at a Medieval Festival singing the medieval song 'Männer mit Bärte' ('Men With Beards' - probably best not to ask...), having been picked from the audience and asked to sing with the band - at least Pepo was actually sporting a beard for the occasion!

Earth-shattering stuff, you'd have to agree, and a quite ridiculous way to end another year of birthday celebration shenanigans!